Monday, August 9, 2010

Bring on the bugs!

Welcome back to Free Radicals: Science, culture & connections. It's been a while. We missed you too. Despite the rather lengthy blogging hiatus, the show has continued to air on CKUT every Monday morning at 11:30. You can also listen online or download up to six weeks of past shows.

August 9, 2010Get outsideCan a walk in the woods really change us? Scientists are beginning to think so. There's evidence to suggest that being in a busy city environment can reduce the brain's capacity to remember things and lower self-control. Kids are driven to school and back, and off to soccer practice, and then when they get home, they turn on the computer or TV and settle down to an evening of screen-tertainment. The growing children and nature movement suggests children's problems with obesity, attention span and lack of understanding of the environment are connected to less outdoor play and exposure to nature. Do you have nature-deficit disorder?

Listen to the show. (We're currently having some technical difficulties bringing the mp3 to this blog, but you should be able to stream the show from this link.)

Red Fox RemixHere's a treat: Growing up in Toronto in the 1970s, I was exposed to Hinterland Who's Who--one-minute wildlife video segments about muskox, moose and the mighty beaver. (See the Red Fox below.) Now the Canadian Wildlife Service and the Canadian Wildlife Federation have opened the nostalgia gates for parents across Canada and giving kids the chance to remix their own Hinterland Who's Who. It's brilliant. Make your own HWW remix with your favourite Canadian critter. Don't forget to upload it to the HWW YouTube channel.